Obama, In Swipe, Refutes Clinton On Experience

Then, on Monday night, Mr. Obama made an appearance on ABC’s Nightline in which he said, “I think the fact of the matter is that Senator Clinton is claiming basically the entire eight years of the Clinton presidency as her own, except for the stuff that didn’t work out, in which case she says she has nothing to do with it.”

He added, “What she can’t be is selective, in terms of, you know, cherry-picking and making determinations that she’s now suddenly the face of foreign policy.”

The Clinton campaign responded to the Albright shot by producing the actual Madeleine Albright to say that Mrs. Clinton would “be ready from the very first day to lead our nation in a dangerous and complicated world.” And responding to the foreign policy forum, Clinton spokesman Phil Singer released the following statement: “With the critical foreign policy challenges America faces in the world today, voters will decide whether Senator Obama, who served in the Illinois State Senate just three years ago and would have less experience than any President since World War II, has the strength and experience to be the next president. Senator Clinton, who has travelled to 82 countries as a representative of the United States and serves on the Armed Services Committee, is ready to lead starting on Day One.”

Mr. Obama seems to have settled on his answer.

“Long résumés don’t guarantee good judgment,” said Mr. Obama in a Berlin junior high school. “A long résumé says nothing about your character, and when you are electing the next president, you have got to thing about judgment and character.”

The approach seems to be working—to an extent.

“I lived overseas for 10 years,” said Michael Brosnan, a 53-year-old history teacher who attended the Berlin event. “It does matter that he lived abroad for five years, because he could communicate better and listen to foreign leaders. When it comes down to it, I’d vote for him. I guess it would just send a
good message to the world.”

After taking a step away, Mr. Brosnan turned back and said somewhat disappointedly, “Still, I have a feeling that Hillary is going to get it.”